Eaton Vance Acquires Little Silver Asset Management Firm for $62 Million

Fox Asset Management LLC of Little Silver, NJ, a leading institutional investment management firm with $2 billion in assets under management, was acquired by Eaton Vance Corp. (EV), a Boston-based investment management firm, on October 1, 2001. Woodbridge law firm Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith, Ravin, Davis & Himmel LLP represented Fox Asset Management and its principal shareholder, Peter J. Skirkanich, as special counsel; and, the Jersey City firm of Schumann, Hanlon, Doherty, McCrossin and Paolino, Fox’s general counsel, also participated. Eaton Vance was represented by the Pittsburgh office of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart.

Under the agreement, Fox was reorganized and will become a limited liability company subsidiary of Eaton Vance Corp., remain headquartered in Little Silver, and will retain autonomy of its investment processes and management structure. Eaton Vance acquired 80 percent of Fox for an initial payment at closing of $32 million in cash and Eaton Vance stock, and additional payments in 2005 and 2006 of up to $30 million, contingent upon certain financial performance criteria. Fox’s principals retain control of up to 20 percent of the equity of Fox through 2010.

Attorneys representing Fox on the Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith, Ravin, Davis & Himmel LLP team included corporate partners Alan E. Davis and W. Raymond Felton, of counsel Richard Weller, employee benefits partner Thomas C. Senter, corporate associate Emer M. Conroy and tax associate Allen V. Brown. Edward J. McCrossin of the Schumann firm served as counsel to several of the minority shareholders and to certain entities established to facilitate the transaction.

Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith, Ravin, Davis & Himmel LLP, with offices in Woodbridge and Roseland, New Jersey, provides comprehensive legal services to individuals, businesses, municipalities and public agencies. Ten of the firm’s 50 partners have been listed in The Best Lawyers in America. For more information, call 732-549-5600 or visit the firm’s web site at http://www.greenbaumlaw.com.